is stem cell research legal

12 years ago, jackie christensen wasadjusting to life as a new mother. and, as someone living witha debilitating disease. "i have had parkinson's disease since,well i was diagnosed in july of 1998." christensen has receivedtreatment, including brain surgery, and that has helped, but not cured her. which is why it's been frustratingfor christensen to see the bush administration blockfederal funding for certain lines of embryonic stem cell research thatcould lead to a cure for parkinson's. "we should have the ability to open everypossible door that might lead to a cure."

president barack obama is removing thoserestrictions, clearing the way for scientists to study embryonic stem cellswith federal dollars. which is great news for patientsand the doctors who treat them. "particularly in minnesota, we think about this, because we have the oldest stemcell institute in the world." jonathan slack is the university ofminnesota stem cell institute director, and says researchers at the u of m have alreadymade significant progress toward cures using stem cells "the lifting of the federalrestrictions, will mean getting those cures and treatments to patients sooner than expected.

"in the usa, it's good news for anybodyinvolved in stem cell research." "what makes embryonic stem cellsso special is their versatility. they can be programmed toform any type of cell needed. so, if you need to treat a badheart, you could make heart cells. same thing for the brain. and that work could eventuallylead to treatments, or even a cure for conditions like parkinson's. "they're all conditions where,theoretically at least, you could cure them by removing the bad cells orreplacing them with good ones."

from cancer to parkinsons, slacksays research will speed up now that the federal restrictionshave been lifted and that cures for some diseases could beless than five years away. "the future of stem cell therapy isreally limitless from that point of view." and that's great news forpatients like jackie christensen. for the university of minnesota,i'm justin ware.